CLEVELAND — Cleveland's much-anticipated Downtown parking changes with cashless payments and dynamic pricing are only a few months old, but the City Council pushed forward on a number of changes Thursday in response to complaints that Councilman Richard A. Starr said he continues to get.
"I'm getting emails from business owner's like I did today," said Starr of a business on Prospect. "The elimination of free parking after 6 p.m. and on weekends has created a major barrier for our customers."
It's what led to the council's efforts to adjust payment required hours as well as tweak the dynamic special event pricing that went up the longer you parked, leaving motorists unclear of how much they were going to pay for the night. That's why Councilman Kevin Bishop said enough.
"We want to simplify this for Clevelanders so that they can understand what they all pay for parking when they come downtown and go into the neighborhoods," said Bishop.
The legislation approved by the council's Municipal Services and Properties Committee Thursday alters the hours for payment, which downtown is currently required 7 days a week from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday through Saturday, at those hours, with Sundays free except for special events. Council's original version called for free parking after 8 p.m. and free before 4 p.m. on Saturdays, but was changed.
Outside downtown, where payment has been required since January, Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., would change to Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., with weekends free. In addition, the measure lowers downtown parking rates to $1 to $3 per hour and up to $8 per hour in Special Event Zones during special events.
"I think this is a great first step to simplify parking and make it stable, affordable and predictable," Bishop said.
It's the special event pricing that downtown residents like Matthew Ahn told council they understand, but would appreciate an online calendar of when they would be in effect.
"I'm out here oftentimes trying to cross-reference three different sports schedules trying to figure out if parking is going to be $1.50 an hour or $8 an hour," Ahn said. "And sometimes I miss a Morgan Wallen concert and all of a sudden I'm paying $32 for parking."
After complaints from motorists without smartphones, the legislation also requires that pay stations that accept cash and coins be located within 600 feet of every downtown spot.
The Bibb Administration is saying they are continuing to analyze the data and are making adjustments to help local residents and businesses adjust to the changes. Lucas Reeve is pointing to the addition of a 30-minute free parking zone in front of a business on Carnegie after hearing from its owner.
"I cite that specifically in terms of how the administration is approaching the feedback that we're getting from businesses," Reeve said. "It's very much a problem solving approach where we want to understand what are the particular issues that are facing them. What kind of solutions do we have in the toolbox that we can implement there."
Something council says they'll continue to do as well.
"I think we need to keep this dialogue open with the parking department to see if this is working," said Bishop. "We want to make sure Clevelanders are being able to access their own neighborhoods and their own downtown."
The measure goes before the full council for a vote on Monday.
